A living necropolis : the introduction of a necropolis to the inner city of Pretoria, focusing on the cycle of life

Abstract

The proposed thesis design is a necropolis (city of the dead) in the form of a vertical park structure through which alternative methods of burial are investigated. The question of an architectural expression of consciousness to overcome cultural norms and challenge perceptions is researched through the theoretical exploration of the following: the cycle of life; the physical and meta-physical between; and collective dwelling. Through exploring ways of sensitively infusing urban environments with an awareness and acknowledgement of death, life is celebrated by exposing death through a physical manifestation of the whole cycle of life, which will transcend several generations of urban dwellers. In populating the between, these antimonument memorials would become accepted over time and a meta-physical awareness would be created to produce a new culture of urban life.